Bottle from the cellar. 2008 vintage, purchased at the Village Pump the first year Stone made it to MD.

A mildly hazy ruby red with a dense, beige head that falls off to a ring leaving little lacing, this looks decent. The nose is still Hoppy with plenty of bitterness and some stale grapefruit juice. A moderate crystal malt character is present with toffee and caramel. Some honey and cotton candy are present. That almond like nuttiness that the better barleywines have is missing here.

The palate opens with a blend of mild bitterness and moderate sweetness. Toffee, oxidized honey, a little paper, and a little bit of sherry are present. Caramel, brown sugar with a touch of stale crystal malt is also present. Sticky sweet and full in body, this beer is mildly carbonated. Alcohol is pretty well hidden, though it does have a pleasing warmth. Carbonation is moderate. The bitterness and sweetness do clash, especially on fresh pours. As it breathes, the bitterness does fade, bringing out the honey, toffee and mildly nougat flavors out front. Decent.

Thanks to Oneinchaway for sharing this one on the beer bus to San Diego.

Pours a murky orange with a foamy khaki head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, cardboard, toffee, and citrus aromas. Taste is much the same with cardboard and citrus flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is an above average beer that is drinkable but is showing some noticeable signs of oxidation unfortunately.

Orange brown hue with a fair amount of head on the pour. Given the initial aroma upon opening and color, already thinking double IPA. Or maybe barleywine.

Nose confirms this is a barleywine. And an aged one to boot (although at this point in the game, it's not a reach for me to say that). Caramel, sweet bread, orange marmalade. Has a bit of that faded hop aroma, so I can narrow the style down to American barleywine.

Still a good amount of hops in the flavor, although basically all bitterness now with a little citrus juice to it. Good malt backbone along with caramel. Dry, fusel alcohol. Medium bodied, appropriate carb for the style

Another solid beer, but somewhat one dimensional at this stage of its life. Since the last beer was Stone, I'll take a stab in the dark and guess Old Guardian. Maybe 4-5 years old?

Reveal: Stone Old Guardian 2008. 5 years it is. Talk about a lucky guess with the age haha. Solid, solid beer

Got this February 2013 in a nice bottle. Right as it's opened the smell pops out and fills the surrounding air. A very sweet smell- caramel and toffee backed by a hint of alcohol. Hazy copper liquid with the thinnest rim of bubbles circling and clinging to the edges of the glass. Taste is great flavor of dominant toffee with caramel backed by subdued bitter hops and warm alcohol. The hops carry that strong bitterness many stone beers but the aging of this puts that bitterness more as an undertone. The aftertaste is quite fun as the hoppy bitterness sticks to the mouth while the alchohol and sweet flavors can be felt streaming down the throat. 2nd glass from the bottle tastes more bread notes that really balances the overall delivery as initially it is very sweet. Hope to run into another aged bottle someday.